Sanctuary
by Savage324
Summary: Nathaniel is a perfected version of the vicious wolf-human hybrids known as Erasers. But that's where the similarities end. Unlike Erasers, Nathaniel is kept in a cage like the rest if the mutants and is even more vigorously tested then others. But he knows how to escape, and how to rebuild his life as well as others. What will it take to realize his dream of complete freedom? AU.
1. Freedom Day

I lay like the wolf I was curled up at the very back of my crate. With my super human hearing, I picked up a faint conversation, but it was muffled through the wall. I shivered slightly from the cold. The freaks next to me were shivering too, well, one was lucky enough to have some Polar bear in him, so he lay nice and cozy in a dirty white snowball. The rest of us didn't get the warmer parts of our nonhuman abilities, just the usual tails, claws and paws for us unlucky suckers. The one next to me was a mix of human and cat. When I first looked at her, I'd chuckled to myself. She had ears that were from a cats on the top of her head amidst her knotted brown hair. She had the night vision part of the cat too, since her pupils dilated and shrunk extremely fast.

What about me you ask? I'm part wolf. Now, don't get all confused about this just yet. I'm a different type of combination then the Erasers. And let me tell you, when I found that out, I was the happiest I'd ever been since I was born. Which was bittersweet cause it still meant I was a freak of nature. I'm 95% human and 5% wolf, I can make my fingernails turn into claws and my teeth can turn into fangs basically. The side effect of those two things, I have to turn into a wolf at least partially. Now unlike Erasers, I can fully turn into a wolf completely, not just a wolf man mutant. Right now I was in wolf form, my lengthened jaw on top of my crossed paws. My breaths came in predatory snores, with my inhales silent and my exhales low menacing growls.

Being a freak has it's perks, trust me. You get fed this delicious meat that they let sit in the sun so it can rot for you. Aren't these guys the best? Oh, and not to mention that they let you workout for free in their "gym" as long as you don't stop and you have at least five shot of probably poisonous liquids. Needless to say, I hate these psychos and everything about them. As do all of us freaks in dog cages.

We'd heard them talk about these mutants that escaped two months ago with the help of some guy named Jeb. That gave me some hope that there was the smallest shred if possibility that I could escape this hell hole. And ever since I'd been working up a plan to do just that. And tomorrow morning was gonna be my Independence Day.

* * *

><p>My dark brown eyes shot open, instantly adjusting to the annoying flashlight in my face. I curled my lip back to reveal my sharper-then-any-Eraser's teeth, which were no doubt gleaming in the artificial light. My ears flattened against my wolf skull as I growled angrily. I heard the white coat step back a half step before going back to the gate of my crate, waving a slab of meat. They basically thought I was like a dog as that giving me treats would make me change back into a human, but I'm smarter then the average mutant and got an extra meal out of the deal, so I at least had two rotting slabs of meat a day.<p>

I rose onto me paws slowly, crouching like I was ready to pounce, my teeth still bared in anger. The white coat flung the door open, tossed the meat into the cage and shut the foot as quickly as he could. If a wolf could have chuckled evilly, I was doing it. I walked over to the meat, sniffing it in fake suspicion. I glanced over and noticed that the cat girl was missing from her cage, but i quickly went back to the meat. Then I tore into it like I wanted to do to everyone of the "scientists" here.

"That's disgusting," I heard the scientist mutter to himself as he turned from me to the door, "Sir, you said you wanted Subject 5 in B wing correct?"

"Yes," a man with a deeper voice said, "It needs to be tested on it's endurance."

"Right away sir," then the white coat turned back to me just as a swallowed the last of the meat. "Come on, boy. We need you more normal for this test."

I was already changing. I felt my teeth shorten and become more blunt. My paws turned to hands, and my skeleton morphed into a humans. My tail shortened and disappeared, all the while my bones as insides were making the most sickening cracks and sloshing noises. I heard the scientist dry heave slightly. He was new at this, I could tell. I went and grabbed the ragged shorts on the floor of my crate and slipped them on. They didn't give me a shirt, so my toned and defined muscles were on display. For a guy at 15 and a half, I was tall and ripped. But enough about me, what I was about to do made me giddy with excitement.

I slowly made my way out of the cage, and looked up at the scientist eye to eye. He stared back. Then I was on top of him in the tile floor slamming his weak skull against the floor viscously. He was unconscious before her could even hope to figure out what happened. I was out the door, sticking to the shadows and moving as silently as I could. I made my way past doors and windows, regrettably catching glimpses of mutants being tested, I took deep lungfuls of the antiseptic saturated air an continued on. Then I saw an unguarded room with three cages in it. I slowly crept in the room with caution, sniffing the air for Erasers. When I was satisfied there wasn't any I looked into the cages. The far right of the three held a small boy that had a patch of scales running down his exposed back. But he was dead, I could already tell from the smell his corpse was emitting. The one on the opposite side of the three cages was a guy that looked maybe fourteen. He looked built but it seemed to me that he probably weighed nothing. There was a shirt covering his back as he faced away from me. I unlatched his cage, but didn't open it. I felt like he wouldn't be able to run any amount of distance today, so at least he could try after he rested. Next to him, in the middle of the cages was the cat girl, looking up at me with her breath coming out as a slight purr. She was pretty now that I could get a look at her, she had a soft round face, brown hair, and brown eyes with golden flecks.

"Hey," I whispered hoarsely, since i never had any reason to talk, "I can help you."

"What can you do?" She said.

"Break us outa here," I answered.

Her eyebrows shot up, and so did her cat ears, "Really?"

I nodded, "But we need to hurry."

I unlatching her cage and she crawled out quickly and quietly. We slipped out of that room and slid into the shadows. Every now and again there would be a patrol of Erasers or a group of white coats that made us hide in side rooms or behind corners. Eventually, we made it to the door that shown through with sunlight. Excitement rushed through me and I made my way to the door.

But, thanks to my luck, a couple of Erasers shoved through the same doors and stopped dead in their tracks. Then they grinned evilly. I knew why. They had their opportunity, their excuse to kill some mutants. And they weren't going to give that up. They wolfed out as much as they could, becoming wolf men with snouts, yellow teeth, and claws. And they charged us, with feral growls they surged towards us with thee teeth bared. I crouched, shoving the girl not unkindly behind me. She groaned and moved behind me as I dropped my shoulder and rammed the Eraser with all the strength I had. Needless to say, these creeps were gonna have to get another door. The Eraser I'd rammed had flown back into the other one and both sailed through the thick glass double doors.

Sunlight spilled into the hall, the first rays of sun I'd seen outside of the courtyard I'd been forced to run laps in. Me and the girl ran as fast as two mutants could run, which is pretty freaking fast I you ask me. We were out of there in no time whatsoever. It felt so great to be free, to run wild among the Sierra Nevada's.

Me and the cat girl finally made it to a safe distance from that disgusting place, taking refuge in a cave. I was starving, and judging by the girls roaring stomach, so was she. I reassured her that I'd get some food and she merely nodded, slumping from exhaustion onto the ground, her back against the wall. She drew her knees up and hugged them, burying her head into her arms, her cat ears flattening against her skull. Soon she was purring as she slept. I flashed one of my rare smiles and turned out of the cave.

* * *

><p>It was night when I got back, arms full of quail and a boar over my back. I smirked as the girl looked up at me wide eyed, her eyes so dilated because bid the dark I could barely tell if she had an iris. Her ears perked up, and I noticed that every ten seconds or so, one or the other would twitch or turn to catch a slight sound. Just like I did when I was a wolf. I dropped the boar onto the ground and handed her the quails. She looked up at me in gratitude. She picked up one of the quails and extended her index finger up so that it pointed to the ceiling. Then, with no warning, her fingernail grew long, sharp, and hooked like a cats. She grinned at my semi-surprised face as she skinned the small bird and gutted it. She did this to every one of the birds. She laid the birds in their skins like they were plates, as I left and got some supplies to start a fire.<p>

When I came back with the logs of a dead bush and some logs, I found the girl halfway done with the boar. I blinked in surprise. The girl looked up and beamed at me as I set up the fire. I shook my head as I lit the fire. The girls eyes Went from completely dilated to slits then they adjusted to the light as normal sized pupils.

"Name's Subject 9," The girl said, stringing the quails by their necks into a stick over the fire. Her voice was soft and delicate, but it had an edge to it that told you she was a fighter down to her very core. I looked at her slender frame with some toned muscle packed onto it, her nicely tanned skin, and her silky brown hair. She was quite pretty.

"That's not your name," I said, looking at her, "Not anymore, anyway."

"Well," the girl shrugged, "What was yours then?"

I cocked an eyebrow, "Not that it matters anymore, but it was Subject 5."

"Well," the girl said, "I'd rather we not call ourselves Subject whatevers. So how about you just call me Alycia, it was the name that one of the good whitecoats. You know, the ones that saw us as unfortunate souls?"

I nodded, "I'll be Nathaniel. I have no idea where I heard it, but I like it."

Alycia smiled, "Well then, Nathaniel, good night."

"Night," I smiled back as she laid down on her stomach, setting her head down on her arms. Before I knew it, I was hearing the purring sound of her slumber.

As I lay in the cold dirt of the cave, I looked out towards the sky. The stars lot up the night like the Christmas trees I heard the white coats talk about in the middle of winter. I smiled as I realized that this was the first night of my entire existence that had been spent outside of a dog crate so small I was forced to change into a wolf. I shivered at the thought, gritting my teeth at those first nights. I knew that I would never forget that place, that every time I saw anything that had been in that building, I would be racked with memories of that horrible place. Already I felt myself tucking those memories deep inside my brain, so I wouldn't have to think about them. Maybe, just maybe, when I've truly gotten away, I would be able to forget them.

I laughed. _Fat chance._

* * *

><p>"Up an' at 'em!" Alycia kicked me awake, "C'mon, we have to go."<p>

"okay, okay," I mumbled, groaning as I sat up, "I'm up."

"Good," she smirked, "Now, where are we going, Nathaniel?"

"The first big city we can find," I shrugged, "Soon as we find that, we can hide."

"Sounds good to me, then what?" Alycia cocked an eyebrow, her left ear twitching towards the mouth of the cave.

I looked at her with a serious expression, "Once we find a good place, we're gonna go back."

"What!?" Alycia looked at me in shock, "Are you crazy? Did they screw around with your brain while we were in there?"

I looked at her with a small smile, "No, I'm fine. We're free after all. But the mutants back there aren't. How many times did you wish you could escape while you were in that crate or running on a treadmill with them shocking you until you were so tired you passed out?"

"Way too many," she answered, her ears dropping a she became very interested in her shoes. "Alright, fine. But you gotta promise that we'll never get caught, okay?"

"Deal," I said, smiling as I held out my hand. She shook it and smiled at me. With a nod, I rose from the floor and headed out into the morning sun, Alycia right behind me. The sun's rays stung my eyes and I squinted as soon as I emerged out of the cave. I glanced back at Alycia, who's pupils had become slits because if the bright sun. She smiled and shrugged when I looked at her with a pang of jealously for her fast adjusting eyes.

"So what kind if cat did they put in you?" I asked tentatively as we neared the third hour of our walk west.

"They put some cheetah and regular cat DNA in me," She answered, "I have the speed of the cheetah and all the benefits of cats."

"Dang," I said, "And all I can do is turn into a wolf."

"What's that like?" Alycia asked with curiosity, "Being in another animals body basically?"

"Well," I said, "It feels natural because it's a part of who I am. But at the same time, I hate it because it shouldn't be apart of me."

"Oh," Alycia said in a small voice, "I see. Well, if it makes you feel any better, I hate my ears. They make me look so obviously different. At least you can chose to look normal. I'm stuck with cats ears on top of my head for the world to see."

I looked at her apologetically, "Sorry, I shouldn't complain."

"I'm sorry too, dealing with being a wolf gots to be tough too," She frowned a little.

"What did they do to you while we were there?" I asked curiously.

"Speed, endurance, agility, things like that. I really cant think of any that stood out to me, but they were all horrible and hard," She looked down at the ground as we walked.

"Yeah, same here. I has to deal with the same rests twice. Once as a human then as a wolf. I hate changing as much as I hate those scientists."

"Why?" Alycia looked at me.

"Sane reason you hate your ears," I said tentatively, "They mark me as a freak. And what's worse is I'm basically an Eraser, but a better version."

"Right," Alycia turned her gaze to the horizon, "I can't imagine how rough that must've been."

I looked to the same spot she was looking, noticing the skyline of what I heard was called L.A, why someone would name a city with letters is beyond my understanding. I smiled at Alycia, and she smiled back. We both shared the same good relief of finding the city, our refuge from the Hell that was surely in our heels. I look in the jagged looking skyline, the haze if pollution surrounding it, the choppers and planes that soared over it. I wandered where we could hide in such a place, and how we would blend.

Right now, I was bare-chested with the shorts the scientists had given me, and Alycia had nurses pants that were cut at her knees and a tank top with a rip that exposed her midriff. We might past as homeless, but we sure didn't look like homeless. I know, without any human interaction other than scarring scientists, that if a passerby saw a homeless body-builder-ripped guy and a pretty girl with real cat ears, then they would have their phones out in a flash. If they don't call the cops or animal control, then they would take a picture and send it to their friends, the news paper, and the internet, which would lea to us being found out and brought back to the dreaded lab.

But, thanks to Alycia's keen eye, we found a truck stop off the interstate a mile walk later. We slowly made our way to the place and walked in. Alycia had flattened her ears against he skull and teased her hair so that it covered it. The effect his her abnormalities alright, but her hair looked so dirty and knotted that it completed the homeless picture for her. We got some weird looks from the guy behind the desk looking thing, and from the truckers who were in line with stuff clutched in their hands. We shrugged it off though, since we were used to being looked at like a dog or a cat(which is basically what we partially were) instead of a strangely dressed couple.

I took a jacket off the racks of the clothes section, and so did Alycia, both of us using our superhuman abilities to slip unnoticed with the clothes into the bathroom. Before the clerk at the desk realized we left, Alycia and I strode happily through the door fully clothed and with a good bit of food tucked into a backpack.

Alycia had taken a nice pair of jeans, and a jacket tha had a hood big enough to hide her cat ears. She had a pair of boots that had a style that made them look like they were military surplus, along with a nice pair of sunglasses to hide her slit pupils. She seemed happier now that she wasn't wearing those rags anymore, and that she was wearing normal people clothes, and so was I.

As we walked along the highway, I took in the scene of the desert like area around us, but soon all I could look t was the skyline of LA. Thoughts hounded me constantly. What will it be like? Will they notice you're a freak? Do you look normal enough? Where will you stay? What will you eat? Things like that bussed in my head all the way there until we passed a sign that said "Los Angeles City Limit".

I looked at Alycia, "Well, we made it."

"Yup," she smiled, "Now what? We have a few hours before sunset to find a place to crash. I've heard stories of this place at night, and none if them were good."

"And we need to stay away from people for a while too," I added.

"Lots of space couldn't hurt, you know?"

"Yeah," I said, "And I think i know just the place."

Alycia looked at me wryly, "Oh? And what is that?"

"You'll see, my friend, you'll see," I grinned.

* * *

><p>Not even an hour and a half later I found it. An abandoned warehouse-looking assembly plant. It was in the grey area between the suburbs and city of LA. It looked to be a hundred feet tall, spacious enough to hide a jumbo jet. There was old metal racks here and there around the edges of the building, and there were old batteries or car parts on top of some of those racks. There seemed to be side rooms on the far side of the building, and broken windows that lead to offices had glass shards littered before them. The huge building was condemned and was just left here, which was good for us, since we didn't want to be found while we slept.<p>

Alycia and I toured the place in awe as we scouted out the resources it had. It looked like a building from a apocalypse, with broken doors and windows, skeletons of machinery dotting the ground, and husks of old cars in heaps with parts scattered around them. I felt right at home, strangly, as I picked out an office that would be my room. It had a oak desk in the shape of an L with a frayed chair behind it. Nothing else was really there though.

I set down the back pack and left the room to find Alycia curled up on one of the racks like it was the most comfortable mattress in the world. She had her backpack nestled under her cheek as a pillow while she purred in her sleep slightly. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of her, of how the mix-matched clothes and her dirt smeared face, coupled with the place she was sleeping, made her look like the most stereotypical homeless girl in the world. But that same that thought went with me, too, since I was wearing the same kind of clothes and I was just as dirty.

I turned and slipped back into my office as quietly as I could. I practically face planted onto the decently carpeted floor of the side room and closed my heavy eyes. Images flashed onto the backs of my eyelids. Images of the horrible things that those mad men had done to me, of how those long nights curled up in a wolf's body, and how much I wanted to die because of everything. Unconsciousness enveloped me just before the good memories I had could make me stop shaking with rage.

* * *

><p>Slowly, my eyes opened to reveal an unfocused version of my new home. As the blurry image sharpened, I made out the desk next to me, as well as the cat girl perched on top of it.<p>

"Afternoon, sleepy head," she smiled down at me.

"Huh?" I blinked. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

"Well, from what I gather, that was the first time in a while you've slept as a human," She shrugged, her ears stooping down with pity, "So I wanted you to enjoy a full nights worth of rest."

"Uh," I stuttered, grateful for her kindness, "Thank you, Alycia. So what did you do while I was sleeping?"

"Oh!" She exclaimed, dropping from the desk next to where I was sitting up, "C'mon, I've got something to show you!"

"Uh, okay," I said rising as she turned and left my room. I stopped in my tracks and smiled at what I saw next.

Alycia had found multiple pieces of furniture and set them in a ring in the center of the huge warehouse. She had also found supplies and had them stacked on the racks except for the set where she slept. There was a large pile of clothes folded semi-neatly on a folding table. Those supplies were enough to feed mutants like us for a good while, and the clothes were enough for twenty people. There was a nice song playing from an old cars radio a few yards from the circle of furniture. She had gotten enough stuff to last us months.

"How did you get all of this stuff?" I asked.

"Oh a few stores just never got their shipments this morning," she smirked.

"A cat burglar are we?" I chuckled.

"Oh shut up," She said giving me a venomous look.

"Alright, Alycia," I began, becoming so serious that it stopped her in her tracks, "I think we're ready for our return."

Her ears dropped with the weight of that statement, so much so that they flattened against her head, "Alright."

"I know that you don't like that idea anymore then I do," I said. "But if we haBe even a shred of humanity, we have to go back. Okay? I'll protect you, I promise."


	2. Gangs and Guardians

Alycia sat high in a tree above me, scratching behind one of her ears. I was on the ground, leaning againist the tree trunk, staring at the lab where I grew up in. It was midnight, and shadows touched every part of the landscape around us. We had just gotten her not ten minutes ago, clad in the darkest clothing we could find, and we had settled next to the tree to rest. Soon after that, Alycia used her claws and cat abilities to climb the twenty-five foot tree in seconds, while I watched her before looking to the school. Now, we were watching the lab with hatred in our eyes, snarling at the sight of the abomination of a building.

I heard the rustling of leafs, then something hitting the ground lightly behind me. I knew it was Alycia, since her car side gave her all the perks of the felines, but five times over. She quietly went to my side and stood next to me with her arms crossed in disgust over her chest.

"There's no going back after this," She said solemnly, looking straight forward. "After this, we'll be hunted like fugitives, not just thorns in the sides of the scientists."

"I know, Alycia," I said in monotone, going into a sort of predatory mode that made all things besides my targets seem as distant as the moon. "But, if this works, then we can handle them coming after us."

"If you say so, boss," She scoffed.

"You're just as in charge as I am," I flashed a grin. "You ready?"

She nodded. I took off everything except a pair of athletic shorts, then I dropped on my hands and knees. I hated myself for doing this, but at the same time it felt good to change. But it was bittersweet. I felt my jaw elongate, my teeth becoming razor sharp white daggers. Black fur sprouted from my skin and coated my body like a blanket. My tail grew out from the back of my spine as my skeleton groaned and shifted into the shape if a wolf. I heard my insides slosh around and change, my muscles bulging from underneath my fur. Pointed ears jutted from my skull as my human ones seemed to dissolve away. When it was done, the clothes I had been wearing slipped off during the transformation. I looked up at Alycia with my now golden eyes.

"Alright," She said. "Let's do this."

At that, Alycia used the cheetah side of her to speed to the lab, while I growled and surged after her, smiling on the inside at the prospect of killing Erasers and freeing my fellow freaks.

* * *

><p><strong>A year after Freedom Day...<strong>

I emerged from my office, wearing a leather jacket and dark jeans. Alycia jumped Down from her bunk rack, wearing a similar outfit to mine, her hair slightly curled. She fell in behind me as I stride to the Meeting Place. There was a fire in an oil drum, a ring of outstretched palms receiving it's warmth, along with a few pairs of paw-like or webbed hands. The rest of the hundred or so mutants under this roof were scattered around the huge warehouse, in their separate groups. They were all clad in mix-matched dark and dim-colored clothes, with dirty faces and straight faces. It looked like the apocalypse had hit us, to be honest. We all were grateful for Sanctuary, our new home, but we still lived in an abandoned warehouse in L.A. with everything we own being stolen goods.

"Hey," One of the mutants from the Meeting Place smiled, shark teeth shining, "We gonna go on another raid soon?"

"Maybe," Alycia shrugged, "We'll see what the team we sent out brings back."

"Okay," the boy said.

Alycia and I nodded and continued on our way. We walked past the mutants and across the warehouse, exiting into the morning sunlight. The sky was dotted with whispy clouds, glowing a golden hue in the suns soft rays. Then my eyes fell on the area in front of us, littered with some still unconscious bodies from a gang skirmish last night. Alycia and I had formed our little safe haven basically like a gang would, with the area around the warehouse being our territory. The gangs that were there before us had looked at what we were doing and started a bitter rivalry. Now we had as many enemies here as anywhere. We taught every new person here that we have to hide our abilities as best we could, which is why mutants with extremely visible nonhuman characteristics didn't come out at all until night. Ones that could hide their abilities, like wearing glove over paw like hands, formed the teams that got supplies and fended off intruders. I formed them, calling them Sentries, and teaching them how to fight and be stealthy. Thanks to that training, we were easily the most powerful "gang" in L.A., but I made sure we purposely lost fights so that we didn't look unbeatable and have the scientists. We made sure that we looked and acted like every other gang out there, even having some have jobs and go to school so that we covered all the bases.

"Well," I said, nudging the closest body with my foot. "I'll take one and you can get a team to handle the rest of them. Sound good?"

"Yeah," Alycia shrugged, turning to a lookout with super human eyesight, "Mind giving a girl a hand?"

"Uh," the boy stuttered, surprise to be spoken to by the two founders, "Y-yes, of course!"

"Good," She chuckled, "Come on then."

As Alycia and the boy cleared the large parking lot of unconscious bodies, I found a strong looking fifteen year old in jeans and a hoodie. I grabbed the hood and dragged him inside the warehouse. Another mutant helped me move him as we sat him down in my office before my desk. We sat him in a chair and zip tied his hands and legs to the chair securely. I dismissed the mutant with my thanks, and he smiled as he closed the door behind him with a scaly hand. I moved quietly behind my desk and sat down in an expensive leather chair I got when we stopped a supply truck on it's way to a furniture store. My desk had three identical knives jutting vertically from the desktop, jet black blades facing menacingly towards the now stirring boy.

He slowly raised his head, eyes unfocused as he scanned the room in confusion. His gaze sharpened and he noticed me almost instantly. His eyes showed just how scared he was at the sight of me. I couldn't blame him, since I looked like the hardcore leader of a resistance movement, with my muscles showing through my clothes. The knives in the desk probably made him think that he was going to be killed tonight only intensified his fear.

"Who the hell are you?" He said, his voice surprisingly strong and firm.

"I'm known as Nathaniel," I said, kicking my feet up on to my desk nonchalantly, "How about you?"

"Rock," He said.

"Your real name," I said, just enough irritation in my voice, "I'm sick of hearing you kids' stupid nicknames that mean nothing."

"Your one to talk," He shot back, "You don't even look a year older then me."

"Smart," I chuckled menacingly, "And hear I thought you got your nickname from being as dumb as a rock. I'm fifteen years old."

"Huh?" The boy looked amused and confused, "Then I'm older then you! What makes you think that you can scare me?"

He smirked and seemed to gain confidence, looking me full in the eye now. I looked back at him with a amused but evil glare, "Tell me 'Rock', have you killed anyone?"

His face twitched, "What? No, why would you ask that?"

I shrugged, letting my eyes become my wolf eyes. The whites of my eyes went black and my iris became a glowing gold. I smirked, "Because I have killed full grown men with my bare hands when they tried to hurt my family. Not to mention that these guys had guns and blades everywhere. So tell me, my foolish friend, why is it that I find it easy to scare you to death?"

He looked at me, trembling and shaking, "What are you?"

I chuckled demonically, "Depends on how you act, Rock. You can comply and do what I tell you to do, and I'll be one of the best things that will happen to you here. But, if you act like an idiot and try to do something stupid, I'll be your worst nightmare."

"What could you possibly do, kid?" He said, "I can take you down, cause you're all talk. There's no way you can scare me."

"Oh?" I raised my eyebrows. "Is that so?"

"Yeah," he snarled.

"Well," I shrugged. "All I want you to do is carry a message do me."

"No!" The boy said, "I wont do anything you tell me to do! Now let me go so I can give you what's coming to you, you homeless brat!"

"Fine," I said, standing from my chair and ripping a knife from my desk.

"Huh?" He stammered, unable to believe I'd give in that easily.

"I've dealt with punks like you before. Tougher hotshots then you, too," I said, slicing the zip ties. "And they all failed. So please, give it your best shot."

He rose and looked at me, smirking as he thought I'd made a big mistake, "You're through, kid."

I shrugged as he went into a fighting stance, and raised his fists. I stood, unchanging while a taunting grin spread across my face from ear to ear. The boy growled and charged at me with anger, sending a fist sailing for my face. I simply side-stepped, planted a foot behind him, and shove him square in the chest. His body fell backward, pivoting on my hip so that he lost his balance. The boy slammed into the ground with a groan, his head hitting first. Slowly, rubbing the back of his head, he rise shakily to his feet. I looked at him questioningly, as if to ask if he really wanted this to happen. He returned my look with a sneer of confirmation, then charged again. On his way he ripped a blade from my desk and brought it down on me. I fell on a knee and crossed my wrists under his, stopping the blade five inches from my face. I smirked evilly, and his expression went from determined to terrified from that look. I dropped onto my back and swung my foot to sweep his legs out from under him. He toppled down, surprise flashing into his face. Before he landed, I rammed him in his chest, hard. He flew back and slammed into the wall across the room, stunned but still conscious.

"He thought he could take you, huh?" Alycia leaned casually against the door frame. The light spilling behind her only let me see an outline of her. I knew the boy saw her cat ears twitching to every small sound, but focusing on us.

"They all do," I shrugged. "But at least he was smart enough to grab a knife, though."

"Oh?" She intoned with a twinge of surprise. "Do where does that put him with you then?"

"Well," I shrugged as she practically teleported useing her cheetah speed and reappeared sitting on my desk. "I don't disrespect him as much, but he's still not worth the time as far as I can tell."

"That's something at least," she smirked, turning to the boy as he slowly stood up, "You should be proud of yourself, 'Rock'."

"Shut up," he growled. "Why do you act like I'm not even here?"

"Because you might as well not be," Alycia cut me off before I could answer.

The boy blinked, "What?"

"You lost, so you don't matter," Alycia said as if it was obvious. "Now you have two kids younger then you that can kill you with one blow. So, you can't do anything."

"Anyway," I chimed in, "What were you and your pals doing attacking us?"

"Boss wanted to teach all of you losers a lesson," He said.

"How many did he send with you?" I asked.

"Twenty guys with bats and a couple packing some heat," he said.

"And how many kids did you see fight you?"

"Three," he grumbled.

"So, now that we know and agree on what happened here," I said. "I want you to go back to your boss and tell him what happened. And deliver a message for me."

"What is it?"

"Next time, they'll come back in body bags," I said coldly before Alycia appeared next to him and elbowed him unconscious in the temple.

* * *

><p>"Alright, then," I said, turning onto the discrete alleyway that lead h the warehouse.<p>

"What?" Alycia looked at me with her startling hazel eyes.

"The team should be back with the food by now," I said, shrugging.

"Awesome!" She exclaimed. "I'm starving!"

"Yeah, me too," I admitted with a smile.

"You're always hungry," Alycia rolled her eyes as we pulled into the parking lot where there was a handful of mutants sparring and testing out their abnormal abilities. One had claws and was relentlessly swiping at a boy with scaled skin, which basically made the claws useless. Another pair was actually ptacticing the fighting techniques I'd taught them when they got here. Thanks to their mutant abilities, they both were a blur of kicks and punches.

I looked away from them and to the warehouse. There was a few mutants on the roof standing sentry over the building. See how I got the name? They all had been trained even more then everyone else, as showed a ton of potential to begin with. All Sentries were mutants that had abilities that made them excellent fighters. Like claws, speed, agility, strength, and things like that. Also it was mostly mutants that looked as human as possible, so that we can have them do more then stay at the warehouse, which was what anyone that looked too freakish.

I gave a small wave to the Sentries on the roof, and it was returned with multiple sarcastic salutes. I rolled my eyes at their little tradition aimed at getting on my nerves. Alycia followed me inside the warehouse. We went into my office to find the team leader of the team that just came back sitting in one of the chairs before my desk.

"Just reporting in, Nathaniel," the mutants said, his tail passively waving back and forth behind him as he rose to face us.

"Go ahead," I said.

"We got more food stores, but the driver had a gun and got one of ours in the shoulder and in his ear, he's in the med room right now."

"What type of mutant is he?" I asked.

"Oh, he's part cat," He said, "He got the ear part of the deal."

"Ah, ok," I said, "Alright, then. You and your team rest up, ok? Your guard shift is in a day."

"Thanks," He said, and left.

I looked around my room and found the two blades that had been taken from my desk and retrieved them and passively sunk them back to where they originally were. I turned and nodded to Alycia, and she followed me out the room. We turned and headed down to the far side of the warehouse, where volunteers were rationing out food for dinner. Alycia and I got into the line and waited for our food. Alycia was turning her ears to listen to every little sound all around her, while I looked around the warehouse to make sure everything was alright, as we slowly made our way to out food.

Finally, after what seemed like forever thanks to our growling stomachs, we got our rations. Alycia and I received them happily and went to sit at our usual spot, on top of the roof where we could keep an eye on the compound. It was breezy out side as we cracked into the mixed-matched good rations. Alycia had gotten a MRE, while I had been given a couple Lunchables. We ate in silence, enjoying the sense of a full stomach and the nice winter weather. The Sentries on duty tonight kept a vigilant watch, most using their enhanced abilities to make it impossible to sneak in. Most of them had superhuman eyesight or hearing.

"So now what?" Alycia asked.

"What are we talking about exactly?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"Breaking out more of us from that lab in the Rockies." She said.

"Well, they tightened up security in almost every lab from the Coast to Texas, you know I sent a team up there to see what's what."

"Yeah," She sighed. "When should they be back?"

"A few days," I shrugged.

"What do we do until then?" She asked.

"We do what we always do," I said. "We survive."

Alycia nodded and picked up our trash and crushed it all into a ball. She hurled it off the roof and it landed perfectly in a trash can in the parking lot. Hoots and hollers of approval sounded in the area from the mutants and Alycia bowed, a grin on her face. I stifled a laugh, and rolled my eyes as I rose. Alycia looked at me and when she saw the look in my eyes, she nodded her approval. I nodded my permission and she went to the edge of the roof of the warehouse. She took of the jacket she was wearing and tossed it aside casually. She spread her arms like that statue in Brazil and let herself fall.

Alycia, grinning the entire time as she heard gasps of disbelief, twirled as she flipped over and over. And just before she hit the ground, she righted herself in an instant and landed with the smallest thud in the world. Even more hollers of approval sounded and some whispered among themselves about how amazing Alycia'a abilities were. I chuckled and tossed Alycia her jacket and it landed on top of her head just as she bowed again. She wasn't expecting it and stumbled forward, but she didn't fall. She regained her composure and gave me a glare as she slipped on the military surplus jacket. I shrugged and climbed off the roof until I was about twenty feet of the ground and jumped off. I landed with a deep resounding thud, slowly and dramatically rising from a kneeling position. Alycia rolled her eyes and shrugged as she wet over to me.

"Gotta love it when we show off and shake the rust huh?"

"You could say that," I smirked, totally flexing my biceps by accident.

"And I do," She chuckled.

"Boss, we got some intruders!" A Sentry called from the roof, "They look like dog-boys to me!"

"Send a squad to intercept!" I barked (no pun intended), "We'll be there in two minutes!"

"Got it, boss!" The Sentry called back, already dashing to the squad on standby duty.

Alycia turned to me, "You flank right and I'll take left?"

"Sounds good to me," I answered, "If they wolf out, we kill them. If they are gang members, we teach 'em a lesson. Got it?"

"Got it," Alycia nodded, "You want me to spread the word then?"

"Yeah," I said, "Tell them the agenda after we get the Warehouse under lock down."

"Sounds good," she said. "See you soon."

"See you soon," I repeated, and ran off to meet up the the intercepting squad.

I ran around the Warehouse as fast as I could, which was twice as fast as any plain human could, and arrived to the sight of our intruders. The full moon revealed about forty Erasers grinning evilly with anticipation. They looked at me like prey and a way to amuse themselves. I could see it in their eyes. Even as I heard the silent thud of Alycia and the rest of the Sentry unit fall from the roof behind me, they didn't seem phased. They all wore casual clothes and looked like male models in spite of them. As I looked for the leader I sensed a few shadows and my gaze shot up.

I, to my relief, saw only a flock of five birds passing in front of the bright full moon. I looked back down to the army of Erasers before me and snarled. I hated myself every time I was forced to do this, to become the very thing those scientists wanted me to. But I knew it was one of the tools I had to use to protect my new family, even though I despised it.

I clenched my hand into a fist and tapped my back with it twice, signaling the attack. Alycia and the Sentry unit chuckled maniacally as they surged towards the dog boys. I soon ignored them and concentrated on changing. I focused on my wolf form, how it felt and was like. I felt my insides morph and slosh around as they reformed into wolf guts. I heard and felt my bones crack and reform into a wolf form, forcing me to all fours as my tail sprouted. I felt my jaw lengthen and my teeth sharpen. My ears crawled up my skull, becoming pointier as they went, to the top of my head and my hearing became ten times better. My sense of smell increased exponentially as my nose became a wolf's. Claws grew from my nails as my hands became padded paws. Black fur burst from my skin and covering my body completely. And all of this happened at the same exact time.

Those Erasers that had not been taken on by any Sentries looked at me and laughed, "Wanna be Eraser? Is this a joke?"

I snarled ferally and surged towards them, a murderous glare in my wolf eyes.

We fought for about ten minutes and each Sentry, including Alycia, killed three Erasers each, while I took down five. But we all had sustained some bad injuries, or were just extremely tired. Those five Erasers stood with those same grins returning as they realized we could barely put up a fight. They even started calling dibs on who got to kill who, which enraged me all the more. But the giant stab wound in my chest kept me from moving as I lay down next to an unconscious Alycia. I looked around to my comrades. Half of the eight of them had a debilitating wound somewhere on his or her body, they weren't fatal with treatment though.

"Well, well," A cocky Eraser smirked, "This was it? That was all you got? I've fought pups that were better then y-"

Suddenly a shadow felt directly on top of the Eraser. As it fell, there was a flash of metal. And I saw with amazement that there was a sword blade sticking out the bottom of the Erasers skull. Just as suddenly, the other for fell victim to the same fate. They all had similar swords sunk into their skulls. The only difference was the size of the shadows that had hit them. Four of the shadowy figures rose from their kills, hoods over their eyes. They each had a pair of wings thirteen to fourteen feet wide, and they all looked extremely tall. Each of the four that had risen were smirking at the looks the Sentries were giving them: shock.

But the one that took out the lead Eraser was still crouching over its lifeless body as a pool of scarlet formed below him. He seemed to be shaking his head in disappointment as he slowly rose, his fourteen feet of jet black wings seeming to ooze shadows. There was a streak of blood red on his right wing. The figure reached to his hood slowly and just as he flipped it back, the others followed suit. The four others were two girls and two boys. The first girl had violet eyes and almost pure white wings, and the second girl had icy blue eyes and brown wings with white streaks. One of the guys behind the leader had forest green eyes with brownish wings, while the other had almost completely black eyes, and the same wings as the other guy. The two boys looked exactly the same except for their eyes. The one with black wings had blood red eyes, which were the same color as the scar-like streak in his wing.

"Thought you all could use a hand," The leader of the bird kids said in monotone.

"Well," The icy-eyed bird girl chimed in, "No offense, but it looked to us like you were getting your butts handed to you after five minutes."

"Yeah," The green eyed bird kid jutted in, "We wanted to help you guys right away, but our fearless leader over here said to wait."

"Oh shut up," his twin said, "You wanted us to leave them to die so we could eat some chow. Don't act like this was all your idea again!"

"I am not taking any credit for this!" The other twin sounded hurt.

"Yes you did!"

"Did not!"

"Did to!"

"Both of you," The red eyed one said in the same exact voice as before, but there was an edge of authority in it too, "Just shut up."

"Sorry," They both said in unison.

The leader rolled his eyes, and turned to gaze with a certain menace that seemed like he didn't even realize he had, "Where's Nathaniel?"


End file.
